


fish me up

by megiaolf



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pet Store, inconsiderate tetra gifting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-04-25 22:00:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14387985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megiaolf/pseuds/megiaolf
Summary: Dan has a crush on the pet store clerk. He also has an unique way to go about it.





	fish me up

"I'll have the red one please." Dan points at a slow moving tetra.

"The red one?" Phil sounds skeptical. Dan nods.

Dan has been coming to the pet shop everyday religiously since last Tuesday and Phil has decided to take pity on the poor boy. He's been having way too much fun lately and it's time to put him out of his misery.

"That's seven tetras you've bought in the last week, mate. We don't have a fish fetish now, do we?" He winks exaggeratedly. It looks ridiculous to everybody else but it has the desired effect on Dan: he goes bright red.

It doesn't take much to make Dan blush, he's discovered. All he needs is a well timed shoulder bump or a flirty remark and color rises steadily to his lovely cheeks and it's a sight to behold.

"N-no. I just really like tetras." Dan stutters out.

"Do you now? And here I thought you came back for the excellent customer service." Phil winks again. He hopes he doesn't come across as too corny.

"No!" Dan blurts out. He looks flustered. 

This isn't the first time Phil has flirted with him. He wants to reciprocate, he wants to reciprocate desperately, but he doesn't know how. Awkwardness and anxiety clamp his mouth shut the moment he even thinks of anything flirtatious to say. 

But he really really likes the way Phil's dark fringe falls across his forehead, and the way he bites his lips when he prepares the fish for him, and the way his eyes match the turquoise stones at the bottom of the tank and he's just tired of life passing him by. 

So he's been doing the only thing he could think of. He's been coming to the pet store every day under the pretext of buying fish and hoping Phil would take the hint and ask him out. It's not a very good plan but it's the only plan that lets him gawk at his favorite pet store clerk in peace and not initiate conversation. The only downside to this Sam is getting really tired of receiving tetras as gifts daily and is threatening to unfriend him in real life. He doesn't care really, it just bothers him that he won't have a place for the tetras to go anymore.

"Aw," Phil places a hand on his heart dramatically, "have I left something to be desired in my service?"

"No, of course not." He clears his throat.

Phil stares at him, then shakes his head. This is like pulling teeth, he thinks. If he hadn't noticed Dan's lovesick staring, he'd have been second guessing his instincts by now. But he has. He has noticed the staring, time and time again, seven times in row to be exact.

He transfers the fish into a bag and ties it. When he hands it to Dan along with his bill, he purposefully lets his finger brush across Dan's. He receives no response other than a whispered thanks.

Right, that's it.

"You do realize you don't have to buy fish everyday to talk to me, right?" He tells Dan's retreating back.

Dan freezes.

"Are you even feeding them? You never buy any food." 

Dan gulps and turns around. He looks like a deer caught in headlights. Phil is staring directly at him and and that makes it hard for him to breathe, let alone think.

He has two options, either to lie and escape the situation as soon as possible or tell him the truth. He ponders for a long moment and decides on the former. He's about to mumble a weak excuse and turn tail when he notices Phil getting an eyelash in his eye. 

One moment Phil is smirking at him and the next he is blinking and trying to get it out without actually touching his eye. He looks like a dork and Dan has an epiphany. 

He's standing in the middle of a pet shop staring at a guy vigorously rubbing his eye and he thinks, Phil's just a man. A very attractive man yes, but a man nonetheless. He has nothing to be scared of. Well, public humiliation maybe, but some things are worth it, he decides.

"I was giving them away to a friend." He tells Phil.

Phil looks up at him inquisitively having finally gotten rid of the eyelash. Dan clears his throat and tries again, "a friend. I have a friend who has a tank. I was giving the fish away. They're taken care of, don't worry."

Phil grins and it lights up his whole face. Dan thinks he made the right decision.

"Oh? Well, maybe you should stop crowding up their tank, yeah?"

"Should I?" Dan doesn't know where this bravery comes from.

"I mean. If it's the resplendent company you desire, I'm always available at the cafe next door."

"Now." Dan says. He does a double take as the word leaves his mouth. He had not meant to say that. Maybe it's God taking over for him because he's so useless.

"Sorry?" Phil tilts his head to the side. He looks like a confused puppy and Dan's resolve strengthens. 

"I'd like to go now. To the cafe I mean." It takes a lot of will power but he looks straight at Phil when he says it.

Phil grins wider. "My shift is over in ten minutes if you want to wait." He points to the sofa near the entrance.

Dan nods and takes a seat. He somehow manages to not have a freak out. He's sure he'll have a massive one by the end of the day, but right now, it's at bay and he has a date with the cute pet store clerk, the promise of coffee in the near future and a red tetra he might actually keep this time. It's been a pretty good day so far, he reckons.

.

**Author's Note:**

> [link to fic on tumblr](https://megiaolf.tumblr.com/post/173163601849/title-fish-me-up-read-on-ao3-rating-g-word)   
> 


End file.
